The traditional display of power between Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his predecessor Uddhav Thackeray on Dussehra day has resumed this year too. With months till the Lok Sabha elections, the two politicians used aggressive rhetoric against one other, with terms like "Ravan" and "General Dyer" being used.
CM Shinde during a Dussehra rally in Mumbai's Azad Park took aim at Shiv Sena-UBT (Uddhav Bal Thackeray) Chief Uddhav Thackeray, remarking that "Balasaheb Thackeray once proudly proclaimed 'Garv se kaho hum Hindu hain' (Say it with pride, we are Hindus) from the Dussehra ground. Balasaheb Thackeray never aligned with the Congress. Today, it seems uncertain when his party will merge with the Congress."
Furthermore, CM Shinde asserted, "Today, I have burned the effigy of Ravana. In 2024, the people of India will burn the effigy of Ravana named I.N.D.I.A. Alliance. In 2014 and 2019, it was Modi, and in 2024, it will be Modi again. We will win 45 out of 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra."
Addressing the concerns in the state regarding Maratha quota, he remarked, "I also belong to the Maratha family and I can understand them very well. They have a reasonable demand for reservations. We will make sure to give Maratha a reservation that will stand legally. I am committed to giving Maratha reservations without doing injustice to any community. I take the oath of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj."
"I request people not to take any extreme steps, your family is behind you. As long as even a single drop of blood is left in my body, I will work for the Maratha reservation. The committee that has been formed has been working on this for 24 hours," he added.
Eknath Shinde's Govt Is General Dyer's Govt: Uddhav Thackeray
On the other hand, Uddhav Thackeray, chairman of the Shiv Sena (UBT), stated on Tuesday that the country needs a strong administration, but not one dominated by a single party.
Thackeray remarked at his party's annual Dussehra gathering in central Mumbai's Shivaji Park that when the "chair" (of ruler) is unsteady, the country grows powerful. He advocated for a "mili-juli sarkar," referring to Manmohan Singh, P V Narasimha Rao, and Atal Bihari Vajpayee's administrations.
Addressing the gathering at Shivaji Park in Dadar, Shiv Sena (UBT) Chief stated: "Like Jallianwala Bagh, there was lathicharge on Marathas in the Sarati villages. Eknath Shinde's government is General Dyer's government."
Hitting out at BJP, Thackeray stated: “We saw a strong government. There should be a strong government, but not of any one party with a brute majority," PTI reported.
Like last year, there was some uncertainty about who would be in charge of the demonstration in Shivaji Park.
The two rallies are especially significant since Lok Sabha elections are just a few months away, and civic elections in various cities, including Mumbai, have been scheduled since early 2022.
In the run-up to the rallies, the Thackeray group released many video extracts of Bal Thackeray's statements, notably those underlining the need for action against defectors. Workers for the Shiv Sena (UBT) have widely circulated them.
The Shinde group's rally teasers, on the other hand, incorporate speeches by Bal Thackeray in which he has vociferously agitated for Hindutva.
While the Thackeray camp has repeatedly labelled Shinde faction members as "traitors," the latter claims the former chief minister abandoned the BJP alliance and joined hands with the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party after rejecting Hindutva.
Shinde and many MLAs deserted from Uddhav Thackeray's Maha Vikas Aghadi cabinet in June of last year, causing the Shiv Sena to split. Shinde then formed a cabinet with the support of the BJP.